Best friend scrapbook with pages from their other people
Make it a group gift: collect a photo and a page from people who know your best friend, keep it quiet with a separate chat, and set the deadline two weeks before you hand it over.
A scrapbook made by you alone shows your friendship. One with pages from their family, partner and other friends shows the parts of their life you were not there for.
Most of the work is organising: finding people, keeping it secret and chasing. Fix the dates before you message anyone.
Make the memory book together
Invite people to send photos and their own words, then choose what goes in the book.
Questions for your friend's people
- How did you meet them, and what did you think at first?
- Which day with them do you still tell people about?
- What do they do that nobody else does?
- When did they turn up for you when it counted?
- What would you order for them in a restaurant?
- What is their worst habit, kindly put?
- Which photo of you both do you like best, and what was happening?
- What do you want to do with them next?
Finding contributors without tipping them off
Ask one ally, such as a sibling, partner or parent, for names and contact details. They know who from work or childhood should be in it.
- Aim for eight to fifteen contributors
- Include someone from each part of their life
- Keep a list: name, how they know your friend, asked, sent
Keeping the secret
Start a new group chat without your friend and give it a dull name. Add people one at a time and check the member list before posting.
Ask contributors to email files rather than tag anything on social media, and to keep pictures out of shared albums your friend can see.
Deadlines with room to spare
Count back from the day you will give it. Files arrive in odd sizes and formats, and arranging takes longer than collecting.
- Five weeks out: message contributors with what to send and the deadline
- Three weeks out: one private reminder to each person yet to reply
- Two weeks out: deadline; late pages go together at the end
- One week out: book finished and checked
What to ask each person for
One photo with your friend and a page in their own words, with a word limit. Send the questions below so answers are specific rather than general praise.
Ask for photos as original files, not screenshots from a chat, so they stay sharp at page size.
Pages to make
How you met
Your own page first: the earliest photo of the two of you, where you met and the date.
Their people
One page per contributor, grouped into family, school, work and current friends, each with a photo and their words.
Things only you understand
A spread of objects from in-jokes and habits: a ticket, a menu, a photo of the place you always end up.
Now
A recent photo of your friend and the date you gave the book, with a blank page left for them to add to.
Questions
How do I make a best friend scrapbook on my own?
Use your own photos, tickets and messages in date order, and write your account of one day per page. Ask one other person for a page if you want a second view.
How many people should contribute?
Eight to fifteen gives variety without pages repeating each other. Choose people from different parts of your friend's life.
What if someone sends something unsuitable?
Thank them and ask for a different photo or a shorter page. You decide what goes in; contributors do not edit the book.